How the Bible was Written

1
How the Bible was Written

• A Study of the Materials and Methods of Writing
  the Bible

2
Writing Material

• Papyrus
• A reed
• Split
• Laid cross ways
• Pressed and dried
• From Egypt, Syria
• Origin of our English word paper
• Oldest dates to 2400 BC

3
Writing Material

• Parchment
• Sheep or goat skins
• Shaved very thin
• Flexible to roll
• Problems
• Dried out
• Cracked
• Dry rot
• Not long lasting

4
Writing Material

• Vellum
• Calf or Deer skins
• Dyed purple
• Ink was silver or gold
• Oldest we have is from about 1500 BC

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Writing Material

• Ostraca
• Clay tablets
• Pottery
• Stone
• Wax covered wood
• Problems
• Heavy, hard to carry
• Cannot be changed, added to, corrected

6
Writing Instruments

• Chisel

Metal Stylus
Pen (Quill)
Ink
7
Forms of Ancient Books

• Scrolls
• Sheets of vellum or parchment sewn together
• Whole books of the Bible form one scroll
• Often kept in cloth sack for protection

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Forms of Ancient Books

• Codex (Book form)
• Sheets of papyrus
• Thin sheets of parchment
• Stacked together and bound
• Similar to our books

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Types of Writing

• Uncial
• All capital letters
• Common in clay, wax, or stone
• Capitals were easy to chisel in stone

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Types of Writing

• Miniscule
• Small letters
• More common on papyrus or parchment
• Script writing
• Often no space between words
• Massorites added vowels to Hebrew texts
• This aided in proper pronunciation

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Divisions Hebrew Canon

• Law - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,
  Deuteronomy
• Prophets - Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings
• Latter Prophets - Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the
  12
• The Writings - Psalm, Proverbs, Job
• Five Rolls - Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations,
  Esther, Ecclesiastes
• Historical Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Chronicles

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Sections of OT NT

• Luke 2444 - Then He said to them, These are the
  words which I spoke to you while I was still with
  you, that all things must be fulfilled which were
  written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and
  the Psalms concerning Me.

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Sections of OT NT

• John 1034-36 - 34Jesus answered them, Is it not
  written in your law, I said, You are gods?
  35If He called them gods, to whom the word of God
  came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), 36do
  you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and
  sent into the world, You are blaspheming,
  because I said, I am the Son of God?
• They disagreed about the interpretation, not the
  canon.

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Chapters

• Pentateuch (5 books of Moses) were divided into
  154 groupings in 586 BC
• In 536 BC they were sectioned into 54 divisions
  and into 669 smaller segments
• Greeks made divisions around 250 BC and noted the
  divisions in the margin until about 350 BC

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Verses

• The section format remained until the 13th
  century.
• Latin Vulgate (4th century) was the first Bible
  with both chapter and verse divisions on both OT
  NT
• The first verse divisions were around 900 AD
• Archbishop of Canterbury 1227 put in the
  present chapter / verse divisions.